User Researcher

SR2 REC LTD; Greater London; Remote; GBP 78,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

Government Digital Services is seeking an experienced User Researcher to support complex digital services across public health and education programmes. You will plan and deliver research throughout the service lifecycle, building a strong evidence base and ensuring findings inform product, design and delivery decisions.

Responsibilities include planning research across discovery to live environments, selecting appropriate methods, and translating findings into practical recommendations for

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on user research in complex digital-service environments.
• Experience on UK government or public-sector programmes.
• Good knowledge of GDS standards and user-centred design.
• Experience applying qualitative research methods across delivery phases.
• Ability to turn detailed findings into practical recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Plan and deliver user research across discovery, alpha, beta and live services.
• Select appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods based on programme needs.
• Conduct research with service users, professionals and internal stakeholders.
• Translate research findings into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Embed user needs with product managers, designers and technical teams.
• Present findings confidently to delivery teams and senior stakeholders.
• Maintain user-needs documentation and contribute to repositories.
• Ensure research is inclusive, ethical and accessible to varied participants.

Skills

User research

Public-sector

Stakeholder engagement

GDS standards

Qualitative methods

Job description

User Researcher - Government Digital Services

Inside IR35: £425-£450 per day
Predominantly remote - ad hoc travel to London and Leeds
ASAP - until the end of March 2027 initially

We are looking for an experienced User Researcher to support complex digital services across major public-sector health and education programmes. Working within multidisciplinary teams, you will plan and deliver research throughout the service lifecycle, building a strong evidence base around user needs and ensuring findings directly inform product, design and delivery decisions.

Role responsibilities

• Plan and deliver user research across discovery, alpha, beta and live service environments.

• Select appropriate qualitative and quantitative research methods based on programme needs.

• Conduct research with service users, professionals and internal stakeholders.

• Analyze findings and translate evidence into clear, actionable recommendations.

• Work with product managers, designers, delivery professionals and technical teams to embed user needs.

• Present research findings confidently to delivery teams and senior stakeholders.

• Maintain user-needs documentation and contribute to research repositories.

• Ensure research is inclusive, ethical and accessible to participants with varied needs.

Key experience and requirements

• Strong hands-on user research experience within complex digital-service environments.

• Previous experience working on UK government or wider public-sector programmes.

• Good knowledge of GDS standards and user-centred design principles.

• Experience applying a range of qualitative research methods across different delivery phases.

• Ability to turn detailed research findings into practical recommendations for multidisciplinary teams.

• Strong stakeholder engagement, facilitation and research-playback skills.

• Experience within health, education or another complex public-service environment would be beneficial.

• Availability for ad hoc travel to London and Leeds when required.